OIL FREE MUTTON KEEMA & GARBANZO BEANS CURRY

For a couple of days now I am wanting to share this non-vegetarian curry recipe using minced meat and Kabuli chana. Actually, we do not get that breed of mutton here that we are used to eating in Kolkata. It is either lamb or sheep meat here; goat meat stopped coming from Australia. I am too sensitive towards smelly stuffs. The problem is I cannot accept strong smell of fish and meat stuffs; neither can I become a vegetarian. Lamb meat does not smell but it does not have fat in it. Sheep meat smells a lot. At times; even after an overnight marination and slow cooking for hours, I find it smelly whilst the rest in the family do not. I ask them but they say it is just fine.

So, these days, instead of solid meat pieces, I mostly get minced meat; it requires less marination and cooking time. It smells less. I am not that extreme who would want to go back to Kolkata to have our kind of fish and meat. I will always consider the factors that would help us prosper more; that matters. I would instead use local ingredients to cook our kind of curries, desserts, snacks. This one pot OIL FREE MUTTON KEEMA & GARBANZO BEANS CURRY is one such family favourite as this family is fond of different kinds of bread. I prefer doing them fresh.

Cooking and having a variety of Beans & Legumes may not be very common in Bengali families but my side of the family have been cooking a few variety for many years now. The vegetarian Indians or South Asians perhaps get their share of protein from different kinds of legumes, beans. It was good to know other parts of the world too eat beans in soups, desserts. I take a leap forward and find it amazing to see so many varieties of them, specially when I visit the Mustafa Centre. Half of the varieties I did not know about; I am pretty sure, the maximum in the Bengali Community may not. I like cooking and eating them; dal varieties are favourite to the son too; the senior too loves if cooked the "non-Bengali" way. What I do is; I keep at least 4-5 varieties in stock at a time.

Round the year, I would stock the Bengali varieties of pulses, beans; "de-skinned moong, beuli, red lentil, Bengal Gram, Matar Dal, yellow & green matar". The rest of the beans & legumes you will see me getting home in turns; of which we are very fond of Garbanzo Beans & Red Kidney Beans. Our mother did not but I do prepare beans and legumes along with meat. The resultant curry is very much a coveted side dish at this home. If one day, we enjoyed this cooked in one pot OIL FREE MUTTON KEEMA & GARBANZO BEANS CURRY with naan bread, the other day, we had it with lemon-turmeric rice. It went well with both.

I cooked that rice 4-5 days before the man and the son had flown to a distant land. Look at my plate; I was eating the reheated stuff a day after they went off. Cristine overloaded my plate, I never say no to food; it helps us survive. I usually cook my family's naan bread with a simple dough made of self raising flour and plain yogurt.

INGREDIENTS : 

MINCED MUTTON : 400GM -500GM
GARBANZO BEAN / KABULI CHANA : 200GM
PLAIN YOGURT : 150 GM
CHOPPED TOMATO : 2 MEDIUM TEA CUP
SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 4-5
ONION PASTE : 3-4 TBSP
GARLIC PASTE : 3 TBSP
GINGER PASTE : 2 TBSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TBSP
CUMIN POWDER : 2 TBSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 2 TBSP
DRY MANGO POWDER : 2 TBSP
CHAAT MASALA : 1 TBSP
GARAM MASALA POWDER : 1 TBSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 2 TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
LEMON JUICE : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP OR 5-6 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Cooking this minced mutton and garbanzo beans curry is very easy because we will do it in a pot. Okay, the garbanzo beans have to be boiled separately.

We have washed few times and marinated the minced mutton with the cumin+coriander+1tbsp red chilli powder+1tsp turmeric powder+onion paste+garlic paste+ginger paste+plain yogurt+lemon juice for 2-3 hours.

We will wash the garbanzo beans and soak in hot water for 3-4 hours. Then, we have to take them in a pressure cooker, add 2-3 coffee mugs of water, little salt and 1 tsp turmeric. 

We will close tight the lid and pressure cook at minimal heat up to 3-4 whistles.

We will open the lid once cool.

Now the rest of the cooking is a cake walk. 

Take the marinated minced mutton is a deep bottomed vessel. Put it atop the stove and keep the heat at minimal.

We will cover cook for 10-12 minutes, open cover to see how much water it has released.

We will cover cook again at minimal heat for 15 minutes.

We will open the cover and add the boiled Kabuli Chana. Now, give a stir.

We will add the washed tomato pieces and slitted green chillies.

We will cook covered at minimal heat for 10-12 minutes. We will open the cover and add the garam masala powder, dry mango powder and the remaining 1tbsp of chilli powder.

We will cover cook at low heat for 12-14 minutes; open cover and add the chat masala. We will again cover cook for 12-14 minutes at low heat stirring occasionally.

Always serve it hot with rice and bread varieties!